BA: Serena's GXi 1.5 'Sundance': Overhaul

**Posted:** Wed Mar 13, 2019 8:13 pm

maZZda wrote:

Have you tried to see if there is some error codes stored in the ECU?
If there is, they might point you in the right direction.
I know from experience that faulty TPS gives a blink code as Blue's TPS was with bad connection..

Good idea - but unfortunately I don't have anything to check them with

S

**Posted:** Wed Mar 13, 2019 8:17 pm

Meanwhile, the mystery over my headlight adjusters deepens ... :roll:

This cable on the side of the headlight looks like a plug for the electric headlight adjuster ... yes?

If so .............. I checked today and neither of these were plugged in.

Immediately I thought that it was my fault, as I've had the lights and bumper off the car on two occasions, and I thought I'd forgotten to plug them back in.

HOWEVER: there is nothing to plug them into. There are two or three spare cables coming out of the body shell, but none match this.

Any ideas?

S

**Posted:** Wed Mar 13, 2019 11:16 pm

Tommorow i will look where my levelers cables are connected (Koito lights) and will post some pics!

Edit:
Whoop, I thought that mazda are clever and here's the proof:
I have an adaptor(so to speak) for the Koito electrical adjusters.
From the car loom wich goes over the back of the headlight there goes 3 wires with a connector, then 5cm after it another one and from there to the headlight adjuster motor.
Serena you have to look for the wires from there, the loom comming from the wing.
Here's some pictures:

Here's where the wires came from the loom of the car:

Here are the two adaptor connectors:

This is the car loom connector(maybe for Bosch lights directly?):

And the Koito connector dissasembled:

I hope i helped!

**Posted:** Thu Mar 14, 2019 7:41 pm

AHA!!!!

Thanks Todor, you've solved the mystery.

When I tidied up the engine bay several years ago, and taped up the unused adapters with nice red tape to match the car, those adapter things were floating around on the end of two spare cables. I didn't know what they were, so I took them off and stored them.

At that point I hadn't got into the mechanics of the car, so I'd never taken the lights off. So it absolutely wasn't me that unplugged them.

Which means that the headlight adjusters have been unplugged for the entire 20 years that I've had the car (apparently the MOT check is a new thing).

I have no idea why the original owner would have done that, unless an accident (which I know Sundance hasn't had) or they were modding the front end. Wohever did it obviously didn't know what they were doing, and didn't plug in the adjusters again.

I'm 99% sure I have the adapters in a box with other bits and pieces from the car - I remember storing them. At least, I'd bloody better have them or I won't be able to get an MOT :evil:

S

**Posted:** Thu Mar 14, 2019 7:51 pm

Hi Serena,
Great, you're getting somewhere!
You've probably found this already but the Haynes manual says the wire from the switch to the actuators is green, then black/yellow between the two actuators, then white/blue or white/red to the headlights.
... but we all know the Haynes manual is not always correct for the BA.
I was going to look under the bonnet of mine, but it's dark now; let me know if you still need some info when it's light at the weekend!

**Posted:** Sat Mar 16, 2019 3:26 pm

I gave up trying to figure the wiring out for the headlight levellers for my Saab 900 and couldn't find a wiring diagram and thinking I would hardly ever use it anyway I took the switch out and put a blank in and I never had any trouble with MoT last summer.... Never had no problems with disabling the headlamp wipers either :?:

**Posted:** Sun Mar 17, 2019 7:17 pm

Toe wrote:

I gave up trying to figure the wiring out for the headlight levellers for my Saab 900 and couldn't find a wiring diagram and thinking I would hardly ever use it anyway I took the switch out and put a blank in and I never had any trouble with MoT last summer.... Never had no problems with disabling the headlamp wipers either :?:

It might be that if there's no switch for it, they assumed it doesn't have levelling / the levelling has been effectively deleted, so they don't comment on it.

As I understand it, an item still clearly intended for use has to be working - hence my V6 failed on PAS last year because the PAS was fitted but had a leak, whereas it passed previously when the previous owner had removed the PAS altogether; and even though many older cars don't have PAS at all, as it's not a legal "must have".

Perhaps last week if I'd replaced the headlamp levelling switch in my BA with a blank, they might have assumed the same: that it doesn't have that feature, and therefore they'd have passed it.

Although that doesn't explain why no tester has ever picked up the issue until now, as it transpires that the levellers haven't been plugged in on this car for at least 20 years - unless, as someone suggested earlier, it's a new check on the MOT.

S

**Posted:** Sun Mar 17, 2019 7:32 pm

maZZda wrote:

I have an adaptor(so to speak) for the Koito electrical adjusters.
From the car loom wich goes over the back of the headlight there goes 3 wires with a connector, then 5cm after it another one and from there to the headlight adjuster motor.

So to recap, I recalled taking these off Sundance years ago (long before I started doing any mechanical work on the car) as they were dangling loosely in the engine bay after the first owner apparently unplugged them from the headlights sometime between 1997 and 1999, and never plugged them back in again

Fortunately I never throw away anything BA-related, so after tearing apart all car-related boxes in my new flat in Wolverhampton, my parts unit in Birmingham, and all the boxes of miscellaneous BA detritus in the boot of my V6 currently parked up in South Oxfordshire, I finally found these neatly bagged up in the bottom of my secondary toolbox:

Thank F******************K ... because if I'd lost these, god only knows where I'd have found another set.

Now I just hope that they WERE the issue and when I fit them the levellers work :roll:

S

**Posted:** Sun Mar 17, 2019 9:47 pm

Fingers crossed! :bounce:

Just for the record, i've already found a pair for 20bgn here in Bulgaria, just in case!

**Posted:** Mon Mar 18, 2019 5:15 pm

Serena, in my ~25 year (or so) experience with Mazdas, Mazda in particular will use a single harness per model for all the trim levels. So whether it has self-levelling lights or not, it will have the harness with that fitted, perhaps with the plugs blanked off (or shorted as necessary).

Case in point: We once owned a 1986 Ford Telstar sedan which was a (slightly-more-than) badge-engineered Mazda 626. Dangling at the top of normal front struts were the connectors for the electrically adjustable suspension, only fitted to the long-nose hatchback version (as far as I remember) possibly with a different (turbo) engine.

Poke around yours and you might even find an auto's neutral safety switch blanked-off or shorted (think that was on our Ford as well, ours was a manual).

Thankfully of course this make retrofitting options relatively easy if you wish to do so.

If the car did not come with them originally as standard equipment or a fitted option then it may not require them working. It could be that they were put in afterwards by the previous owner who never finished the job off.

Having said that I realise UK specs are different to Oz (no headlamp adjusters required) and maybe they were/are required fitment...the switch/control is there???

Good luck and I hope they work!

Patrick

**Posted:** Mon Mar 18, 2019 8:22 pm

pitrack_1 wrote:

If the car did not come with them originally as standard equipment or a fitted option then it may not require them working. It could be that they were put in afterwards by the previous owner who never finished the job off.

Having said that I realise UK specs are different to Oz (no headlamp adjusters required) and maybe they were/are required fitment...the switch/control is there???

Patrick

Patrick, in general I agree, but in this specific case:
According to the brochure, all BA models in the UK had headlamp levelling.
Ignore the yellow marks, it's item about number 29 on this list.:-

**Posted:** Mon Mar 18, 2019 8:53 pm

YES !!

Now it's dark I just went out and turned on the engine ... AND THE HEADLIGHTS AUTOMATICALLY ADJUSTED! WOO!

Forgive my excitement, I've had the car for 20 years and I've never, ever seen them do that. I had no idea they did. I'd like to get hold of the original owner and find out what the hell he was doing.

Earlier I also switched the TPS and the PCV valve, and I swear the engine is sounding distinctly different: crisper. Which I wasn't expecting. Thanks for the TPS Smurf! And Womble, RIP.

Retest tomorrow at 11:45 so we'll see what happens ... at least I know it's only going to fail on the emissions now, and at the greatest extent that will be cat #7 :thumbleft:

S

**Posted:** Tue Mar 19, 2019 1:18 am

Sweet, so are the auto adjusting, or adjusting off the roller switch? And glad that the tps and pcv valve have made a difference too. Fingers crossed all goes well in the morning.

**Posted:** Tue Mar 19, 2019 2:18 am

smurf182 wrote:

Sweet, so are the auto adjusting, or adjusting off the roller switch?

They auto-adjusted as soon as the engine turned over, and I tested the roller switch and that worked as well. In fact I spent several minutes playing with the switch like a kid, to make up for 20 years of not having it :lol:

S

**Posted:** Tue Mar 19, 2019 9:46 am

One correction if i may, they are not auto adjusting lights!
Simply the switch was in another position than the headlights and when the system got power(after the connection with the "adapters") it simply folowed that switch position.The headlights are with electric leveling, but they are not auto or self align ones.
Just in case someone uderstood it wrong.
I'm happy that they work, one problem less.
Cheers!

**Posted:** Tue Mar 19, 2019 2:22 pm

So we're now on cat #6 being fitted tomorrow, under warranty. Hopefully, as usual that will solve the problem - until the cat becomes overloaded again and it fails next year.

However a MOT on that basis allows me to legally get the car up to my new place in the Midlands, and then I can switch to the V6 for everyday runinng and completely overhaul Sundance, including the engine, which has been the plan anyway for the last 18 months.

Fortunately I work from home, so the greater costs of running the 2.0 won't affect me as much as someone needing to get into the office every day.

Of course, there is the small issue of getting the V6 through a MOT first, and again that was also down to emissions ...

(and power steering, but let's not go there).

S

**Posted:** Tue Mar 19, 2019 2:49 pm

Congrats on getting the lights working, also the TPS and PCV swapover!

I suspect the headlamp levelling was a required feature in the EU/UK, so yes it would have to work. It's just about unseen in Australia except for high level luxury cars and now cars with auto-levelling on their HID/LEDs- I think that's a requirement now due to their high intensity.

A (very likely) highly illegal suggestion: Get past the MOT with cat #7, dismount it (for cat #6) and refit cat #7 again for next year's MOT. Repeat each year. Should save you cat #8 for a while...don't all the motorcyclists do this type of thing with their exhausts anyway?

If it's any consolation our diesel Forester is on DPF #3. At approx £1000-1600 (fitted) a pop.

Patrick

**Posted:** Tue Mar 19, 2019 3:19 pm

Todor, you're right of course! :thumbleft:

And cheers Patrick, and for all your advice earlier. Sadly I can't swap back to the old cat, as the new one will be fitted under warranty and they'll take the old one away for diagnosis or whatever. At least that's the usual practice

I will ask for a report on it, to help me figure out what the hell is going on.

Although, I'm eventually planning to replace Sundance's exhaust with a full stainless system, so I guess that will probably need a different cat anyway.

Fortunately at my new place I finally have room to store both cars together, and space to work on them - I have a workshop as well, so I can now finally do the work on Sundance I've been planning for 18 months. I can't get the cars in there but I can do all separate work, spraying etc. under cover and with all my tools in one place.

Assuming they do give me a MOT tomorrow!! :roll:

S

**Posted:** Tue Mar 19, 2019 6:41 pm

SerenaJ wrote:

Assuming they do give me a MOT tomorrow!! :roll:

FIngers crossed! :albino:

**Posted:** Wed Mar 20, 2019 5:30 pm

SerenaJ wrote:

Fortunately at my new place I finally have room to store both cars together, and space to work on them - I have a workshop as well, so I can now finally do the work on Sundance I've been planning for 18 months. I can't get the cars in there but I can do all separate work, spraying etc. under cover and with all my tools in one place.

Assuming they do give me a MOT tomorrow!! :roll:

S

Congrats on the new place, sounds like you'll be able to alleviate some of the frustrations you've experienced trying to get things done in unsuitable space/conditions.

I've only got outside to work on, but at least we have a climate in Australia (even in Canberra) that's mostly conducive to work outside. And luckily I have heaps of driveway space.

Good luck with the MOT.

Patrick

**Posted:** Thu Mar 21, 2019 2:29 pm

Sundance now has MOT ... and cat #6 or #7 (I'm losing count) ... :roll:

Time to give him a rest, do the body and engine overhaul, and at the same time eliminate whatever the hell the problem is.

Next task: get Butch through the MOT so I can use him and rest Sundance! The only issues with him were PAS and emissions. First is now sorted (I think, though system needs bleeding), second was probably down to a cold engine as the garage was only 1/2 mile down the road. At any rate he passed emissions the previous year, so hopefully I shouldn't have too many problems there.

Hopefully ...

S

**Posted:** Thu Mar 21, 2019 4:19 pm

Congrats on the mot, you can let out that sigh of relief now.

**Posted:** Thu Mar 21, 2019 7:49 pm

Well done Serena,

With so many cats I'd be having kittens by now ...

**Posted:** Sun Mar 24, 2019 1:37 pm

So now the boot struts have failed, on both cars at the same time :roll:

So if anyone has a spare working set (preferably B01B, which are the heavy duty type) drop me a pm, ta :thumbleft:

S

**Posted:** Sun Mar 24, 2019 6:21 pm

Sods law!

Aftermarket ones aren't too expensive, and they only made them in one strength (380NM)

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2X-GAS-SPRIN ... ctupt=true

I have those on mine, and although my tailgate is completely stripped, it fookin flies up :lol:

**Posted:** Mon Mar 25, 2019 12:03 am

Fab, cheers H, I'll grab some of them - no point doing second hand, as there's no way of testing the remaining strength in them.

Yep, sods law, especially when I'm moving house over the next few weeks and I'm in and out of the boot all the time. I've already gathered a nice crop of bruises from being bashed by the tailgates on both cars this weekend!

S

**Posted:** Thu Mar 28, 2019 10:59 pm

About that bashing, i think all F owners understood you well. :lol:

Currently Anti has BG boot struts and they are shorter, i bang my head from time to time. :roll:

Blue however i did managed to fit a Mazda 6 struts and the tail gate is way higher than the stock position, wich is making loading and unloading stuff from the car way easier.
So if you haven't got an option for stock ones, don't worry, there are few variants left!

About the TPS, did you installed it correctly? It has to be in the right position so the car knows when the TB is fully closed!If you don't know how to adjust it/check it give me a shout!

**Posted:** Tue Apr 09, 2019 7:35 pm

maZZda wrote:

About the TPS, did you installed it correctly? It has to be in the right position so the car knows when the TB is fully closed!If you don't know how to adjust it/check it give me a shout!

I have no idea if I installed it correctly, I was in a hurry, and just screwed it on!

Please enlighten me :lol:

S

**Posted:** Tue Apr 09, 2019 10:16 pm

I will place shortcut to the topic in the forum:

viewtopic.php?f=19&t=27339&hilit=tps+adjustment

And will get one sample with the essence in it.

sawo wrote:

Hey guys. I know it's an old guide, just wanted to post a little hacky guide where you don't need multimeter at all! This method also works with 1.5, 1.8 and 2.0 just fine.

I used this to fix my KLZE idle - it was all over the place after i did the engine swap. I also tried it on multiple engines - 1.5, 2.0..

1.First, put the ECU in service mode - short ten + sgnd (the standart procedure).
2.After that, rotate the ignition key all the way, but don't start the engine.
3.Next, loosen the TPS bolts so you can rotate it freely. It might be a good idea to mark the initial position just to be safe.
4.Now you need to rotate the TPS until you hear the engine fan goes on. Thats right - the engine fan will come on!
5. Now rotate the tps backwards just enough to stop the fan. That's it, you're done! Tighten the bolts, turn off the ignition key and remove the cable from the diagnostics box.
*TIP: You will most likely need to rotate the TPS just a bit, not by much. If you rotate it too much, this means you are going the wrong way! Rotate it back to the initial position and try the other way - the fan should come almost immediately on.

This trick works because the engine always switches the cooling fan on when you press the gas pedal in diagnostics mode and the TPS does just that - it tells the engine what position the throttle is in. That way you can set your TPS very precisely.

In my opinion the voltage range given in the manual is not nearly accurate enough. In my case i just had to rotate the TPS very, very slightly, but that changed my idle completely. Before that my car was almost impossible to park without the engine cutting off. After that the idle was rock solid.

Feel free to lurk into the topic as it might give you better idea of what,when,where..
It definately works on 1.5(i've done it maybe 5-6 times on several cars) and it's originally for a v6 so Butch could take advantage of this too.
You just have to put a wire between GND and TEN in the DLC connector fo the car to go to Service Mode.

If you need more info, just ask!

**Posted:** Tue Apr 09, 2019 11:42 pm

Brilliant Todor, will do this ASAP - cheers! :thumbleft:

S

Forum rules - Please read!

BA: Serena's GXi 1.5 'Sundance': Overhaul

Who is online